


Tonight, we can get away

by littlefandom



Series: We Can Talk About Everything [10]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood is a good boyfriend, Alternate Universe - Human, Bathtubs, Birthday Fluff, Birthday Presents, Caring Alec Lightwood, Celebrations, Childhood Memories, Christmas Fluff, Developing Relationship, Doctor Magnus Bane, Family Feels, Fluff, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Plans For The Future, Romantic Gestures, Snowball Fight, Surprises, Winter, Writer Alec Lightwood, soft boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:54:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27983388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlefandom/pseuds/littlefandom
Summary: "He’s barely seen his boyfriend this week. A quick breakfast in the morning and the feeling of arms wrapping around him when he’s on the verge of sleep is all he got from Magnus the recent days. Most of the nights he still falls asleep without his boyfriend, and most mornings he wakes up to an empty bed."With Magnus' upcoming birthday and him being so busy with work recently, Alec plans a surprise for his boyfriend and decides to take them on a little romantic getaway, to have a well-deserved break and spent some time alone. After all, they've got a few things to celebrate...Or, surprises, celebrations, lots of feels and Christmas planning, all set up in winter and festive scenery of a weekend getaway.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: We Can Talk About Everything [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1189639
Comments: 14
Kudos: 100





	Tonight, we can get away

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello!  
> It's been a little while, but here I am with another story! A little bit late, since it was supposed to be out for Magnus' birthday, but life gets in the way. Anyway, here is a birthday/winter/Christmas fic that I've been working on recently! Is there a plot? Not really 😂 but great amounts of love and appreciation? Yes, definitely 🥰 so enjoy the 11k of fluff and festive feels.  
> Some lovely people in the comments suggested malec going on a romantic getaway and Alec visiting Magnus at work, and here you can find these two!
> 
> Enjoy the read!

“What about this one?” Alec asks, turning his laptop screen towards Isabelle, who’s currently busy with filing her nails.

They’re both sprawled out on the couch at the loft, the tv playing in front of them just background noise as they’re busier with other activities. Magnus is working double shifts at the hospital this week and Alec won’t admit that he’s lonely with him being away so much, but the truth is, he kinda is.

He’s barely seen his boyfriend this week. A quick breakfast in the morning and the feeling of arms wrapping around him when he’s on the verge of sleep is all he got from Magnus the recent days. Most of the nights he still falls asleep without his boyfriend, and most mornings he wakes up to an empty bed. And he doesn’t want to complain, certainly won’t to Magnus himself, they’ve both been busy recently, but he’s only human, so naturally, when he has the need to vent, his sister is always there.

It still feels somehow weird to Alec to call the loft his home. It’s only been a little bit over a month since he officially moved in, but the living together part is going quite great for him and Magnus. Nobody complains, they argue about silly stuff like taking out the trash or loading the dishwasher sometimes, but it’s still great. He loves falling asleep next to Magnus, loves that he’s usually the first thing he wakes up to, loves coming home to him and loves the way Magnus sags against his arms, clearly letting out all of the tensions from the day as he comes back home after a long shift at the hospital.

It’s really better that he thought it may be and he’s never had a moment of regret that he agreed to move in. He still gets scared that he may have a bad day, that he will become too much for Magnus at some point, but he tries not to worry too much about it for now. He did promise himself to live in the here and now. Whatever happens in the future, they will figure it out, talk it through. As Magnus and he always say, they can talk about everything and it’s a rule that’s been working out quite nicely during the whole course of their relationship so far.

Izzy instantly agreed to join him tonight. Alec made them some nice dinner, they watched crappy movies for half of the evening, but eventually, Alec settled to his task for the night.

Considering how busy both him and Magnus have been recently, plus the fact that Magnus’ birthday is approaching quite soon, Alec decided that they both need a break. So he’ll make them take one.

He’s aware that convincing Magnus to take a few days off will be a tough job, but he’s already involved Catarina in the process, so if Magnus finds no hours for him in the weekend’s chart, it will be both Alec’s and Cat’s doing.

Step one is done, but there’s still a lot more to go.

He’s spent the last hour searching for some suitable getaway location. It’s December, so Alec really wants to keep up with the winter wonderland and festive mood. The cottage that he’s currently checking out on the screen is basically screaming at him with these vibes.

It’s a little house in the mountains, the photo shows it covered with a beautiful, fluffy layer of snow. It’s all wooden, with a fireplace in the living room, one bedroom, a small but well-stocked kitchen and a bathroom. For Alec, it’s perfect, but he wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t get a second opinion.

Izzy leans in to examine the photos on his laptop more thoughtfully.

“Hmm,” She squints a little “it’s cute. Seems to have everything you may need for a weekend getaway…” She pulls back and offers Alec a grin now “I think it’s our winner.”

Alec thinks so too, so he’s glad that his sister shares his judgement.

He offers her a smile of himself and then turns back to the screen to book the place before he changes his mind. Then he hears his sister sigh from his side as she burrows herself deeper into the couch.

“I wish Simon was as romantic as you are,” She decides then and Alec chuckles “seriously!” She insists “here you are, making all of these plans for Magnus’ birthday, making sure he takes a break from work… if Simon doesn’t do something like this for my birthday I’ll need to rethink some things,” She adds more jokingly then.

“Iz, your birthday is in like half of a year,” Alec reminds her, his eyes still glued to the screen where he fills all of the information it.

“Yeah, so he better start planning now,” Isabelle retorts “he needs to step up his game.”

“You chose him yourself,” Alec just shrugs.

“Yes, because I love that idiot,” Izzy states with a proud smile. Alec knows she does. She and Simon may have their problems, but doesn't everyone? It’s not like Alec and Magnus’ relationship is picture-perfect, they do fight, but what’s the most important, is that they always make up.

“Okay, all done,” Alec announces as he receives a verification email from the booking site and then closes his laptop. He turns to his sister, a bit insecure now “you really think Magnus will like it?”

Isabelle looks at him with a soft, but also deadpan expression.

“He’ll love it, big brother,” She assures him “even if you chose the most mortifying hovel in the middle of nowhere, he’d still love it because you’d be there with him,” She says and reaches for his hand to give it a reassuring squeeze.

“Thanks, Iz,” Alec says, not able to hold back the quirk of his lips himself.

“Always,” His sister smiles at him. Then she holds up two bottles of nail polish right in front of his face “now, help me choose a colour.”

*

Alec barely manages to keep everything a secret.

He caught himself almost blurting out his surprise to Magnus more times than he can count, but fortunately, always managed to bite his tongue just in time. After all, he’s always been shitty at hiding stuff from Magnus, so he mentally pats himself on the back for a job well done when the day of the revilement comes.

And it turns out, they have even more to celebrate now.

Alec strides to the hospital with a wide smile on his face, not even bothering to try and mask it up. Their bags are already packed in the car, so as soon as his boyfriend is done with work, Alec can sweep him for their romantic getaway. Magnus doesn’t know he’s here, at least not yet, but it still wouldn’t be much of a surprise, Alec visits him at work quite often, even if it’s just for a little moment to catch up or get lunch together.

Today, one of Alec’s hands is busy with holding a handle containing three coffees, he swiftly manoeuvres between the people on the hospital’s hallway till he gets to the nurses’ station, where Cat greets him with a beaming smile as she looks up at him.

“Hi, Cat,” Alec leans on his elbows on the reception counter, smiling at the nurse.

“Well hello, someone is in a good mood,” She notices.

“You may be too when you find out I brought you coffee,” Alec hands her one of the cups he’s holding “soy milk and two sugars…”

Catarina basically moans, overjoyed as she plucks the cup from him and immediately takes a sip.

“You’re my favourite from Magnus’ partners, ever,” She points a finger at him after gulping a huge sip, stating the words only half-jokingly, but Alec chuckles anyway.

“So,” He starts then “everything is ready?”

“Yes, Magnus has no shifts for the weekend and he’s just finished a surgery so he should be here soon,” Cat tells him proudly.

“Thank you so much, Cat, I couldn’t have done that without you. I owe you a big one,” Alec says, truly grateful for his friend’s help. He’s still not sure how she managed to do that, since Magnus is basically the best surgeon in his place.

“Don’t mention it, someone owed me a favour so it was simple. And you can pay me back with more coffee and a few pictures from your cute getaway, but not too much!” She quickly adds and they both laugh.

“If you ever need a relaxing day, me and Magnus will gladly babysit Madzie for you,” Alec declares. God knows Cat needs a break too, with managing both the hospital life and raising her seven-year-old.

“Like that would be a sacrifice for you!” Cat huffs laughingly “you adore her.”

Alec only shrugs, a grin overcoming his face. Well, he can’t disagree.

“But seriously, Alec, it’s nothing. Magnus needs this more than anyone now. He hasn’t had a fun birthday in a good while. For the last few years, he was always working and we barely convinced him to at least get a celebratory drink afterwards,” Cat recalls “He may act like he doesn’t really care about his birthday, but deep down, he does.”

Hearing these words from Cat, Alec can tell without a doubt that they’re true. Catarina is one of the people who knows Magnus the best. She and Ragnor met Magnus while he was starting med school, so it’s a long going friendship. Alec couldn’t really be happier that his boyfriend’s friends seem quite fond of him.

“Cat, I think there’s a mistake in these,” Alec suddenly hears Magnus’ voice as he approaches the station, eyes glued to some documents in his hands, probably this weekend’s schedule since he frowns. He’s already out of his scrubs, clearly done for the day in his casual clothes “I don’t have any assigned-“ He cuts short when he finally looks up to see Alec here.

Alec offers him a smile and Magnus’s frown instantly softens when he grasps that Alec’s really here.

“Hi, darling,” He comes closer and greets him with a sweet kiss on the lips. He seems so brighten up now that Alec’s by his side and Alec’s heart is jumping in his chest that he can get this kind of reaction from Magnus “what are you doing here?” He asks, still looking at Alec.

“Well, I came to visit you,” Alec answers lightly “and brought you coffee,” He offers him the cup.

Magnus offers him a blinding smile.

“Thank you, angel,” He leans in to steal another kiss. Cat just keeps watching the scene in front of her with fond eyes “I’m actually done for today, so you’re just in time.”

“That’s great,” Alec retorts, barely containing his excitement now.

“Just one more thing,” Magnus holds his finger up and turns to Cat, showing her the worksheets he keeps in his hand “I have no shifts assigned for the weekend, so there must be something wrong with these.”

Cat throws a careful gaze at Alec, but then just shrugs.

“Don’t look at me,” She deflects, holding her hands up “the higher grounds have spoken and decided you have some time off.” 

“But I wasn’t filling for days off,” Magnus frowns again, looking at the papers spread on the counter.

This time, when Cat glances at Alec, Magnus catches the way her eyes keep going sideways towards him.

“Wait a minute,” Now Magnus’ gaze switches from Alec to Cat a few times, then eventually settling on Alec “did you have something to do with this?”

“Babe, what power do I have with the hospital…” Alec plays dumb, wrapping his arm around still confused Magnus.

“You then,” He points at Cat “you had to-“

“Magnus,” Catarina cuts in, her voice fondly exasperated “you have the weekend off with your amazing boyfriend, plus it’s your birthday. Go celebrate instead of arguing here with me!”

“I-,” Magnus starts, but immediately stops when he realises she’s right “okay, you’re right.” He admits, sending his friend a smile. Cat simply mirrors the gesture “so, what will we do with our weekend of, darling?” Magnus questions then.

“I have a few plans,” Alec states and drops Cat a wink, which of course doesn’t escape Magnus’ notice. But before he starts to protest, Alec already tugs at his hand “come on, let’s go.”

“Have fun!” Catarina calls out after them and Alec shoots her a smile over his shoulder.

“Hmm, I don’t like surprises,” Magnus says hesitantly when they settle on their walk to the car. It’s already chilly outside and Alec adjusts his scarf around his neck and wraps himself tighter into his coat.

“What do you mean? You’re the king of them!” Alec squeezes his hand. He can’t even count the times Magnus surprised him with something amazing or vice versa. His boyfriend tends to be wary at the beginning, but then they always end up having fun “Just trust me, okay?” He speaks when they get to the car.

Magnus gives him a deadpan look.

“Of course, I trust you, darling. Unconditionally.”

Alec smiles as they get into the car. He barely gets to start the engine before Magnus tries to pray information from him.

“So…” His boyfriend starts, his voice sing-song sweet “where are we going? Did you make a reservation for some fancy dinner? Or are we going to the movies?”

“I’m not telling you anything, baby, it’s a surprise,” Alec shakes his head, focusing even harder on the road ahead of them so he doesn’t turn to see Magnus’ puppy eyes.

“Just a little hint,” Magnus pleads.

“Nope,” Alec states, trying for a firmer tone but failing from how adorable his boyfriend’s resigned sigh sounds “all I can say, is that it’s going to be a long way, so you better get comfortable.”

“Now you’ve got me intrigued…” Magnus trails off, but Alec only offers him a cryptic smile that doesn’t see to dispel his confusion.

They set on the way, the music playing softly from the radio the only sound when Alec pays most of his attention to the road and Magnus busies himself with checking something on his phone. They drive in silence, but it’s nice, comforting and comfortable as it always is with them. Alec likes this about their relationship, that they don’t always need to talk, can work on their own respective things in silence, but it’s always nice to have each other near, just feeling the other’s presence.

It’s calm and it’s nice. Then Magnus decides to break it.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” He almost yells excitedly and spats Alec on the arm.

“Tell you what?” Alec laughs, but he’s pretty sure what he means.

“That my boyfriend is now a two times New York Times’ best-selling author!” Magnus says almost offendedly, but when Alec glances at him he sees the smile stretched along his lips as he looks down at his phone where he must have pulled up the list.

Alec got the news right before he set on his way to the hospital. He was just waiting for the right moment to reveal this to Magnus, but of course, his boyfriend beat him to it. His second book came out nearly two weeks ago and today it debuted on the list. He’s incredibly happy with it and his hard work seems to be paying off since he’s readers really loved the second instalment of the series. The amount of heart-warming messages he’s received is almost overwhelming but in the best way. He loves hearing the reactions and feedback, that’s always the best part, sharing his art with the world.

“Darling, I am so proud of you,” Magnus speaks and there’s such awe in his tone. Alec feels himself blush, after all, he’s still kind of not used to this, to someone telling him these words he’s always wanted to hear so easily “you deserve it,” Magnus leans in to place a lingering kiss on his cheek.

“Thank you,” Alec says softly.

“Okay, now we’ve got even more to celebrate,” Magnus retorts as he settles back into his seat, still giddy with the news.

Alec smiles and lets him palm drop onto Magnus’ thigh, caressing it lightly.

“That’s the plan, love.”

*

“We left the city like an hour ago,” Magnus states, looking curiously out of the window, but the view basically doesn’t change, still the same forest “if I didn’t know you I’d be scared you kidnapped me.”

Alec laughs at his boyfriend’s dramatic antics.

“We’re almost there,” He assures and after taking a few last turns, they indeed reach the place and Alec sees the wooden cottage emerge out of the thicket of trees. He smiles to himself, it looks just like the pictures.

Alec lets himself glance at his boyfriend in the passenger’s seat. Magnus looks just as confused as he’s had basically for the whole ride. His eyes keep drifting from Alec to the front window where the cabin stands.

“We’re here,” Alec announces and swiftly exits the car to round it and open the door for Magnus. He offers his hand, which Magnus takes with no hesitation, but still not less confused.

Alec draws Magnus to his side, wrapping an arm around him “Surprise,” He says, kissing the side of his head.

“Wait,” Magnus turns to him and points at the cabin “what is all this?”

“Well, I thought that our busy schedules recently, and your birthday, we could spend the weekend together. Get away for a while, change the environment…” Alec explains “so this is our little getaway.”

Still dazed, Magnus looks from the cottage to Alec, his eyes shining, mouth opened but no words coming out yet.

“You planned all this?” He asks.

“Yeah,” Alec shrugs lightly. Magnus lets himself observe him with curious eyes and Alec feels himself blush under his gaze. Then his boyfriend leans in to kiss him softly on the mouth.

“No one has ever done something like this for me,” Magnus says with a smile after they pull back. His palms wander to Alec’s neck, stroking the sides gently “thank you, Alexander.”

“You’re very much welcome, baby,” Alec states, leaning down to press their lips together again. He wraps his arms around his boyfriend, pulling them closer together, but then suddenly Magnus breaks their kiss.

“Wait, I didn’t pack anything! How am I supposed to-“

“Babe, our bags are in the trunk, I packed us,” Alec is quick to reassure him before Magnus gets to freak out.

“Okay, but did you bring that silk robe I-“

“Yes.”

“What about the face gel I use-“

“Yes.” Alec rolls his eyes as he answers.

“And the warm pyjamas, you know which ones-“

“Magnus, I’m sure I brought everything we need,” Alec can’t help but laugh “It’s just a weekend. Besides, whatever I could have forgotten, we can always buy. There’s a shop nearby, it’s not like we’re totally in the middle of nowhere.”

“You’re right,” Magnus shakes his head a little “I’m sorry, I’m just making sure. Of course, you brought everything, darling.”

Alec tilts his head and watches him with an amused smile. Yeah, his boyfriend tends to be a bit of a control freak sometimes, but Alec doesn’t blame him, to some instance, he’s the same. But he’s aware that Magnus’ job never lets him colour outside the lines, that he always has to have everything under control, very strictly. This kind of behaviour also transmits onto his life, but it’s nothing extreme. Alec would probably act the same if someone whisked him away totally out of the blue.

“Now, do you want to come inside or should we just stay here the whole weekend?” Alec can’t help but tease next, prompting a chuckle from his boyfriend.

“Yes, let’s get inside,” Magnus nods and clasps their hands together as they walk towards the front door.

As far as the outside was just identical to the pictures, the inside is too. Or actually, it looks even better. The cute, cosy vibe can be felt basically as soon as you enter the place. The wooden walls and floors only add to this demeanour. Alec’s actually quite surprised it looks that good, pleasantly surprised of course. The photos are always a bit of a different thing and here they don’t seem to do justice too, but in the best way, he could ever imagine.

Alec looks at his boyfriend, seeing him taking in the place too as he twirls around as if trying to inspect every corner. But if Alec can judge from this awed expression on Magnus’ face, he’s pretty sure he hit the jackpot with his place.

“So, what do you think?” He stills asks, although it seems to be a formality. Magnus’ reaction basically tells him everything.

“It’s amazing,” His boyfriend retorts, then his eyes finally fall on Alec “seriously, I love it.”

“I’m glad you do,” Alec says. It did take him a bit to find this place, but it was definitely worth it “we should probably go get our bags.”

“In a second,” Magnus walks over to him as he speaks, placing his arms gently around Alec, holding him close and pressing a sweet, grateful kiss to his lips “thank you, darling.” His eyes are shining with so much love and happiness when he looks up that Alec almost finds it overwhelming. But he also likes it, making Magnus happy.

“You’re welcome, babe.”

*

After carrying their bags inside and unpacking a little, they settle on making dinner. The kitchen is stocked with basically everything they need, so it doesn’t take long to come up with the meal. While Magnus starts on the cooking, Alec decides to light the fire in the fireplace, just to top off the festive, wintery vibe. They should use all of this place’s charms while they’re here.

Soon he’s back in the kitchen with his boyfriend as they’re preparing the meal at the counter

“You didn’t really tell me what we’re making,” Magnus points out then “you just said to chop some vegetables.”

“Well, can’t you tell?”

Magnus turns to him with a deadpan gaze.

“Darling, literally thousands of dishes require chopped vegetables,” He retorts.

“Don’t worry, it’s your birthday weekend, you should know me enough to know that I won’t make something you dislike,” Alec states truthfully. He has a plan, and most parts of it include surprising Magnus, even with what seems to be the simplest things “actually, I’m going to handle it from now on, you can just go to the living room and relax.”

“What?” Magnus frowns a little “No, of course, I’m helping, why are you-“

“Magnus, just go,” Alec rolls his eyes fondly “I’ll handle it, I swear. Go make yourself a drink or something and just don’t disturb me here, alright?”

Magnus studies him cautiously for a moment, his eyes sharp, trying to read anything from Alec, but his expression stays neutral.

“You’re getting so bossy, darling,” Magnus smiles teasingly and Alec rolls his eyes again.

“Go,” He says, shaking his head with amusement.

“Okay,” Magnus sighs, but lets go eventually “holler if you need me,” He finally starts to back out from the kitchen.

“I won’t!” Alec calls out, hearing his boyfriend’s laugh in answer.

Right now Alec is even kind of thankful for Magnus double shifts at the hospital recently since when he wasn’t home, Alec had time to perfect the recipe he’s planning on making now. Also, big thanks for his test subjects, aka his siblings.

He sets to work, preparing the rest of the ingredients, knowing the recipe almost by heart now. It doesn’t actually take long for him to finish, and when he goes to serve up the plates back in the living room, he finds him boyfriend sitting on the couch, looking up at him with a smile. They both have changed into some more casual, comfortable clothes, but it doesn’t matter that Magnus is wearing a pair of sweatpants and a baggy sweater, that actually belongs to Alec, he realises as he takes a longer glance, Magnus is still the most beautiful man, always is.

“Dinner is served,” Alec announces as he places the plates on the table. There’s no actual dining room here, but they’ll be fine with just eating by the coffee table in front of the couch.

Magnus gets a closer look at his plate full of rice and some additions. He squints a little, as he examines it, leaning over the coffee table. Then some softer expression begins to light his face.

“Is that what I think it is?” He asks, still eyeing the dish.

“Well, if you think it’s nasi goreng, then yes,” Alec admits as he sits down beside him on the couch, now feeling slightly nervous “I mean, some version of it at least, I know I probably can’t make it the way-“

He doesn’t get to finish his sentence as Magnus shuts him up with a kiss. It only takes about a second for Alec to react properly and then he’s kissing him back. Magnus cups his face gently when their lips part, smiling at him, something a bit nostalgic about it.

“Thank you,” He says, his thumb running against the soft skin of Alec’s cheek delicately “it means a lot.”

They don’t actually talk a lot about Magnus’ childhood back in Indonesia, but Alec knows that these mostly aren’t happy memories. But there are times when his boyfriend tends to be rather nostalgic. He told Alec what he misses the most one time: the beach near his house, the sound of the ocean waves and the pure blue of it, and the food. So today, Alec tried to bring back at least a little bit of his home.

“Say if after you actually have a taste, for all you know it can be terrible,” Alec only half-jokes. He might have followed the recipe, but it still may be far from the tastes Magnus remembers.

“I’m sure it’s great,” Magnus just retorts, the smile unfazed on his face “thank you, really.”

“Its nothing,” Alec just shrugs.

“No, it’s a lot, Alexander. I know it may seem like a little gesture, but I didn’t actually think you would remember how much I used to love this dish. I think we only spoke about this once.”

“Well, you’re my boyfriend, I listen to you,” Alec states as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

“You listen, and you remember,” Magnus points out “and that’s a lot.”

There’s something intense about his gaze, but Alec keeps looking, way too lost in those beautiful, golden orbs, the love so evident in them, basically pouring out from his gaze.

“Okay, we should actually eat before it gets cold,” Alec states then and Magnus nods, but doesn’t dive into the food before pressing one more kiss to Alec’s cheek.

Alec awaits his reaction as he takes the first bite, still nervous, although he’s pretty sure Magnus wouldn’t tell him if it was terrible. But he can’t really fake his reaction when he basically moans at the taste.

“It’s so good,” Magnus says as he stuffs another mouthful of food in his mouth “really, darling. You outdid yourself. It’s almost the same as I remembered.”

Alec smiles a little, proud smile as he tries the food himself. It’s good, he admits. But he can’t really focus on the taste. He much more prefers watching Magnus can see the way his eyes reflect the memories he must he recalling now.

Alec hopes he will remember this one too.

*

Now it’s about finding the right moment.

Alec has been trying for half of the evening already, but he doesn’t really know when it will come. Magnus’ birthday is actually tomorrow, so he should probably wait with his gift. But on the other hand, now it seems so lame that he’d want to get this over with. But on the other, other hand, he doesn’t want to disappoint his boyfriend now, when he’s so relaxed and just looks so happy.

As Magnus returns to the living room’s couch, two mimosas in his hands, Alec still contemplates. It’d got a bit late already, but they’ve spent the whole evening relaxing and doing nothing in particular. The fireplace warms them nicely, Alec also set up a few candles around for more of a romantic effect and he noticed that the living room is decorated with fairy lights under the ceiling and around the mantlepiece, so he turned them on too. Alec loves the loft, but won’t deny that such a change of environment is nice and more than welcomed. He supposes that Magnus’ opinion must be similar since he hums as he sits himself on the couch and looks around the room, taking a sip of his drink and handing the other one to Alec.

“It’s so pretty here,” Magnus states as he tucks himself onto the couch comfortably.

Alec confirms with a nod. He takes another few seconds to decide, resolving that it’s too soon for the gift. Instead, he actually has something he’d like to talk to his boyfriend about.

He busies himself with taking a sip of his drink to form some words.

“So,” He starts eventually and Magnus instantly switches his focus to him, instead the stunning décor “have you been thinking about Christmas?”

Magnus frowns a little at first, then hums, pointing a finger that Alec.

“Darling, you are more than welcome to tell me what you’d like to get, but to be honest I already have a few ideas for your presents…” He trails off a bit teasingly, prompting Alec to chuckle. He shakes his head a little.

“No, I mean, I didn’t really mean the gifts,” Alec explains then “more like how we are spending it. Do you have any plans?” He bites his lips, a bit nervous.

Magnus seems to think a little.

“Well, I usually spend Christmas with Cat and Madzie, also Raphael and Ragnor, if they’re in town,” He retorts then “but I haven’t actually been thinking about this year yet. There’s been so much work recently that I haven’t even noticed that the holidays are approaching quite fast.”

Alec takes his words in with a nod, trying to find the courage to say the next words. Then he realises, that it’s Magnus. The worst he can do is deny his suggestion, which won’t be even bad, he has every right to. But he also promised himself he would ask.

“Would you like to spend Christmas with me and my family?” Alec finally asks.

Magnus looks back at him, appearing to be quite surprised.

“I just… we always have this Christmas Eve dinner and I was thinking if you’d like to join.”

“That’s something you’d want?” Magnus questions, a bit unsure.

“Yeah, of course,” Alec shrugs “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want this.”

Magnus smiles a little but still looks down.

“I wouldn’t want to impose-“

“Magnus,” Alec doesn’t even let him finish, some note of irritation in his voice, but it’s still soft. He shifts on the couch, moving even closer to Magnus and resting his palm against his cheek delicately “my family loves you, babe,” He retorts simply “they’d be elated to have you there. We all would. Izzy is also bringing Simon and Jace Clary, so it only seems fitting I bring my boyfriend too.”

“Yeah, but we haven't been together as long as they-“ Magnus tries, but Alec shakes his head and interrupts quickly.

“And I don’t care,” He says, “I love you. I really want to spend our first Christmas together, you’re basically family at this point,” He means it, every word. Christmas is just such a special time, always spent with his family and well, Magnus is a part of it too “unless you already made plans with Catarina or something-“

“No, no,” Magnus shakes his head “we haven’t spoken about it…” he exhales “angel, I’d really love to spend Christmas with you, so if you’re sure-“

“I am,” Alec assures yet again and his boyfriend smiles more brightly now.

“In that case, thank you for inviting me and I look forward to it,” Magnus states.

“Great,” Alec leans in for a quick kiss, now letting a smile of his own paint his lips. This Christmas will be different in many ways. It’s the first one without his father, not that he will be missed, but it’s always some change. Now Magnus agreeing to celebrate with his family. It feels a bit like a big step, but one that he’s glad to take. He wants everything with Magnus.

“Alright, so now I guess we have to talk about presents because I don’t really know what we should get your family,” Magnus retorts then and Alec rolls his eyes.

“We’ll figure something out,”

“Alexander, Christmas is in like three weeks, there’s not a lot of time. We’ll have to go shopping and-“

“And we will,” Alec assures him intently “but what we should focus on right now, are the gifts for your birthday, which is tomorrow,” Alec reminds him, a playful note in his tone.

“Well, my birthday doesn’t start for another two hours,” Magnus’ voice is equally teasing as he glances at the clock on the wall, showing that it’s after 10 pm now.

“And you don’t want some celebrations a bit earlier?” Alec gently plucks the glass from Magnus’ hand and places it on the coffee table together with his.

“I don’t know, it depends on what you’re suggesting…” Magnus trails off, although Alec seems to be making his intentions very clear from where he shift even closer to him.

“It’s your birthday, so I guess whatever you want,” He shrugs a little.

“What I want,” Magnus begins and he tugs Alec closer against him till he lands in his lap with a startled gasp “is to ravish my wonderful boyfriend to thank him for this amazing surprise,” He says, his lips basically already on Alec’s.

“I think your boyfriend would love that,” Alec retorts as Magnus moves to places kisses against his neck “but I don’t really need you to thank me,” He pulls back gently to cup Magnus’ face and look him in the eyes “it’s my pleasure to take you here and spend some time together.”

Magnus looks back at him with a warm smile, reaching to tenderly sweep some hair from his forehead. His eyes are soft and sparkling with joy. It’s a nice change from the exhaustion that Alec’s been seeing there for the last few weeks.

“I love you so much,” Magnus says, holding him a bit closer.

“I love you too.”

And well, it’s just a first present of many.

*

Somehow, they end up sprawled on the floor in front of the fireplace, only a blanket covering their bodies. Fine, they might have got a bit carried away, but they really haven’t had a moment for each other in a way feels like ages, so it’s all justified.

The warmth radiating from the fireplace warms them pleasantly, plus thank the powers above for floor heating. It feels oddly comfortable, but Alec guesses that most of the comfort he just gets from looking at his boyfriend’s blissed and relaxed face.

Alec rests in Magnus’ arms contently but soon raises on his elbows to admire his boyfriend more properly. He really looks more relaxed than he’s seen in for a long time, a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead, eyes still closed, but an easy smile on his lips, that makes Alec smile himself. He reaches out and traces Magnus’ lips with his fingers delicately, then slides his palm to cup his cheek and run his thumb along the soft skin.

“I missed you,” Magnus admits with his eyes still closed, but his smile even wider now.

“Missed you too,” Alec states, leaning down to place a kiss on his forehead.

“I’m sorry for being so busy and neglecting you recently,” Magnus opens his eyes eventually when Alec pulls back, reaching with his hand to run it through Alec’s hair tenderly.

“Babe, we talked about this a million times,” Alec rolls his eyes as he reminds him “your job is very important.”

“I know, I know,” Magnus sighs heavily “still, I wish I had more time for you sometimes. You deserve it. You deserve more.”

Alec smiles at his words but shakes his head exasperated.

“I have you all to myself now,” He retorts “that’s more than enough.”

“It’s okay if you’re annoyed though,” His boyfriend points out lightly.

“Well, I’m not,” Alec shrugs. Magnus tangles his fingers in his hair, rolling his dark locks delicately on them “I get it.”

“You really are an angel,” Magnus states and brings him down for a kiss, their smiles morphing into one soon.

“Hmm, I think it’s time I gave you my gift,” Alec says when they part, his eyes still closed for a while more, basking in the kiss. It’s a bit after midnight now and yes, Alec is that cliché to want to already give him the present. Also the sooner the better and even if Magnus hates it, maybe the amazing sex they’ve just had can somehow appease it.

Or they can just have more sex to make up for it.

“This wasn’t the gift?” Magnus asks with mocked surprised and Alec smacks him on the shoulder lightly with a laugh.

“It was one of them,” Alec retorts with yet another kiss before he drags himself up to march to the bedroom where he left his bag with the gift.

“Can my another gift be you not dressing up, please?” Magnus calls after him from the floor, almost pleadingly. Alec shakes his head with amusement as he rummages through his bag and then swiftly returns to his boyfriend’s side “Seriously, like for the whole weekend you could just walk around naked and let me admire you.” Magnus trails his hand down Alec’s bare arm when he sits down crossed-legs next to him, covering himself with a blanket much to his boyfriend’s disapproval.

“Only if you promise to do the same,” Alec replies with a laugh, but now that he’s at Magnus’ side, the nervousness is back. What if he’s going to ruin their whole weekend at basically the start with this stupid gift?

“Well, I can for sure be convinced, my love,” Magnus retorts as he raises on his elbows, frowning slightly as he gets to inspect his boyfriend properly “everything okay?”

“Yeah, of course,” Alec shakes his head a little, trying to compose himself. Well, alright, here goes nothing “here,” He extends the paper bag towards Magnus “happy birthday, baby.”

“Thank you,” Magnus smiles as he takes it gratefully, slowly taking out the contents. Alec bits his lip as he waits for some reaction.

Magnus frowns a little, but his smile doesn’t fully fade.

“It’s your book,” He says as if Alec wasn’t aware.

“Open it,” Alec instructs “on the first page.” He adds.

“Okay…” Magnus does as he’s told, gently turning over the cover.

Magnus has, of course, already read Alec’s book. It came out only about a weeks ago, but Alec has given Magnus the very first draft to read, almost as soon as it was finished, and later the ready to print version too. And Magnus had thoughtfully read through both of them, even with his crazy schedule recently, something that Alec is very grateful for. But the thing is, that Magnus doesn’t really own the fully finished and printed out version. But that’s not even what this gift is about.

And when Magnus realises what it is in fact about, he lets out an almost shocked gasp.

Because right on the first page of Alec’s second-ever book, the defecation states:

_For Magnus, this wouldn’t be possible without you. Thank you for always believing in me and always being my light._

Magnus looks up at him, tears in his eyes and mouth open, but with no words coming out. Alec feels his own eyes getting a bit glassy too.

“Are you serious?” His boyfriend asks eventually, his voice trembling a bit.

“Yeah,” Alec nods “I know it’s kind of lame, but it’s the truth,” He shrugs “without you I wouldn’t be able to finish it. You gave me the inspiration, the motivation, you always put me back up when I’m down… it just means a lot to me, Magnus and you deserve to have some place among these pages.”

“It’s not lame at all,” Magnus shakes his head, still visibly moved. He looks down on the book one more time, staring at the words before closing it and clutching it to his chest “I just… I don’t know what to say, it means a lot to me that you decided to dedicate it to me… I, I don’t think I deserve it-“

“You do,” Alec interrupts him “I just… I can’t thank you enough for being there for me through everything. Sometimes I feel it’s been some crazy rollercoaster since we meet,” He laughs lightly “my parents divorcing, me constantly falling in and out of depression… but you’re sticking right through it, and I had no idea, or hope even, that I would ever find someone who’d just… be able to love me, even with all of those… issues.”

Magnus lets a few tears escape on his cheeks and Alec realises that his own are wet too. He sniffles and runs a hand over his face, then he feels Magnus’ palm cupping his cheek gently. He looks at him, with that intense gaze that Alec always finds himself at the receiving end of when Magnus thinks he’s being ridiculous. It’s a bit softer now but still holds the same meaning.

“Being able to love you, to be with you,” Magnus starts, and although his voice still trembles a little, Alec can feel the stern conviction behind it, “is the greatest pleasure and honour I’ve ever been granted in my life. I’m so in love with you I think my heart could burst sometimes.”

Alec chuckles, a bit wetly and Magnus does too. Then he kisses him, sweet and reassuring, as it trying for him to forget all of the bad times now.

But Alec is not stupid, he knows that life’s not always going to be amazing and colourful, but what he knows, is that with Magnus it’s way easier to go through than alone.

So he lets himself be convinced with the touch of Magnus’ lips on his, that in the end, it’s always going to be okay because they have each other.

“So it’s not lame?” Alec asks when they pull back lightly. Magnus laughs warmly and shakes his head, resting their foreheads together as Alec can’t help but join onto the sweet sound.

“No, it’s not,” Magnus assures him once more.

“Because I also got you a necklace, just in case you thought it was,” Alec admits, prompting his boyfriend to laugh again.

“It’s perfect,” Magnus retorts genuinely with a smile.

Alec looks at him, getting lost in those beautiful amber eyes again and still not able to comprehend how he got so lucky to have this man in his life. Forget all of the birthdays or Christmas, he’s already got the best gift he could ever get.

“I’m still giving you the necklace though,” He admits and Magnus hums.

“You shouldn’t have said anything about it, you could safe it as my Christmas gift,” He says teasingly.

“Who says I don’t have your Christmas presents already?” Alec asks in an equally playful tone.

“Now you’ve got me intrigued, love,” Magnus leans in to kiss him again. He pushes Alec back gently, till they’re laying on the floor again “the necklace can wait, right?” Magnus asks into the almost non-existing space between their lips.

Alec answers by just kissing him again.

*

“Alexander, wake up,”

Alec wakes up to not a very quiet whisper of his name and a hand shaking his shoulder.

 _No, no, no_ , he thinks, this wasn’t supposed to go like this. He was supposed to wake up first, make Magnus breakfast in bed and this whole spiel, it’s his birthday after all.

Instead, he gets shaken awake by his boyfriend’s way too cheerful and excited voice. He groans the day he barely started and it’s already not going the way he planned too.

“What is it?” He finally gives in, turning around in the sheets to face his boyfriend. Magnus is sitting up in bed next to him, staring out of the window. Alec rubs at his eyes to try to get rid of the residues of sleep.

“It’s snowing,” Magnus turns to him with a bright smile for a second, and then he’s back to looking outside. When Alec finally manages to make himself awake, he indeed sees it.

There’s a fluffy layer of white already covering the ground, but the snowflakes keep falling immensely from the sky. Of course, he’s seen snow in New York, but here, in the mountains, with basically no buildings around, where it's just so visible and clear… it’s really something different.

And there’s also the fact that it’s the first snow this year, and the first time he’s seeing snow with Magnus.

Yes, it’s cliché, but Alec can’t help himself. There’s still so many firsts before them and every time some new experience arrives… it’s nice to be able to explore things with Magnus. This year they will spend Christmas together for the first time, they moved in together, had their ups and downs, but Alec can’t help the feeling of excitement for what’s to come, even if it’s the most mundane things, they feel somehow spectacular with Magnus by his side.

Alec wraps his arms around his boyfriend, resting his chin on his shoulder and staring at the view before them. 

“It’s beautiful,” He states with a kiss pressed to his boyfriend’s shoulder. Magnus easily agrees with a nod.

“First snow of the year,” He says in a dreamy tone and then turns his head to meet Alec’s eyes “I’m glad I’m experiencing it with you.”

Alec leans in to press a sweet kiss to his mouth as an agreement, brushing their noses together as they part.

“Now, could you please stay in bed? Because I had this whole breakfast in bed idea and I really want to go through with it…” Alec pleads as he winces slightly, but he’s still not backing down so fast.

Magnus laughs, kissing him again softly.

“How could I say no to you, darling?” He shakes his head amusingly, reaching with his hand to run it through Alec’s hair “If you won’t get dressed yet, you can go.”

Alec chuckles and it’s his turn to throw Magnus an amused gaze. His boyfriend only shrugs innocently and well, he’s cute and Alec doesn’t really have to get dressed… and it’s Magnus’ birthday, so it’s only fair he does everything the birthday boy wants, right?

“Happy birthday, baby,” Alec says and after placing one last kiss on his boyfriend’s cheek, he scrambles out of the bed to carry on with his plan for the day.

Although breakfast in bed won’t be a surprise and a total success anymore, he can still make it enjoyable. Besides, it’s not the only way he intends to ravish his boyfriend today. 

“Be back soon!” Magnus calls out after him as he flops down the bed “I already miss you!”

Alec shakes his head again, his boyfriend really can be dramatic sometimes…

But in the end, he wouldn’t really have in any other way.

*

“Come on, Alexander!” Magnus calls out to him from where he climbs onto another hill to admire the views. The snow has fallen quite thickly now, and in fact, it is still snowing. The little snowflakes sticking to their clothes and hair. They’re not exactly in the mountains, but the area here has got a few steep hills, from which you can see the nearest town.

After breakfast, they decided to take advantage of the magical wintery weather and went for a walk.

And if Magnus acts like a kid in a candy store in this snowy field and Alec finds it amusing, well, no one needs to know.

With yet another exasperated, but still fond, shake of a head, Alec tries to follow in his boyfriend’s footsteps. Magnus really seems amazed by the snow, by the vast open space… Alec admits, that he’s quite stunned by the view himself. It’s totally different from the New York snow, where you don’t even get a chance to admire it properly from the always busy streets.

When Alec eventually catches up to Magnus, his boyfriend turns to him with a wide smile.

“Are you cold?” He asks.

“No,” Alec denies instantly but hugs his jacket tighter around himself. As much as he appreciates the views, he kind of like the comfort and warmth of their little cottage.

Yeah, he definitely misses the warmth a bit now.

Magnus sends him an amused smile, clearly able to see through Alec’s lie.

“Come here,” Magnus pulls out his arm and Alec doesn’t hesitate to sink into his embrace. They stand together, looking at the peaceful city below, watching as the streets turn white and the roofs of houses get covered with the fluffy layer.

Alec hugs his boyfriend a bit tighter, tucking his head under his chin. He’s not sure why, but even such simple things like this, just standing with Magnus’ arms wrapped around him… it feels quite magical. He’s always been reluctant when it comes to believing in this whole bullshit that loves makes you only see the world through rose-coloured glasses, still sort of is, because the fact that he’s in this amazing committed relationship for sure doesn’t’ fix all of his life problems. But having someone near, someone who he knows he can always confine in, who won’t judge… it’s comforting and nice. He’s of course always had his siblings to turn to, but with Magnus, it’s a different kind of love. A love that brought them together in the first place and still keeps them together.

“I never got to see snow when I was a kid,” Magnus confesses suddenly, not exactly in a sad tone, but there’s something nostalgic about it. Unconsciously, Alec’s been aware of that, but it hasn’t really hit him since he said it. Magnus spent his childhood in Indonesia, so of course, there was no snow.

“Well, it’s practically just frozen water,” Alec tries to lighten the mood a little and is rewarded with Magnus' chuckle.

“Oh, I know, but there something magical about it, especially during Christmas,” his boyfriend retorts “if you saw me during my first Christmas in New York when it started snowing…” He recalls with a soft laugh.

There are still things Alec doesn’t know. Magnus has told him little of his childhood, but Alec could feel that those weren’t the greatest memories. But he supposes it might not be the best time to recall them now, although things like birthdays apparently make Magnus more nostalgic, which is totally understandable.

“Tell me something about your Christmas as a child,” Magnus says then and Alec sighs lightly. It’s not that he doesn’t have good memories, he does. Izzy’s shining eyes every time she got to open the presents, Max’s excitement when waiting for the Santa Claus to arrive, he and Jace trying to guess what could be hidden in each of these wrapped boxes, the big Christmas tree they always put up in their living room and decorated with various ornaments.

Alec was happy then, or at least thought he was, because now that he looks at it, basically half of his childhood he was pretending.

But it’s no time for this kind of realisations now, the past is in the past and Alec really hopes that one day, he’ll be able to come back only to those happy memories.

“Every year when it would start snowing,” Alec starts recalling “me, Izzy, Max and Jace would go outside to the garden and build a snowman,” He smiles lightly at the memory. He’ll never forget the excitement of waking up, looking out of the window and seeing that the snow has covered the streets. Of course, there were moments of disappointment when the snow wasn’t there, but still, all of this was shared with his siblings “then we would stay out basically for the whole day, having snow fights and stuff, till we were basically freezing. But then mom was calling us inside and made us hot chocolate.”

Magnus hums lightly and Alec feels him burying his face in his hair, exhaling lightly.

“It sounds nice,” He says and Alec nods.

“Yeah.”

“I think I’d like to try Maryse’s hot chocolate.”

“Mom will for sure make you a cup when you come to this Christmas dinner,” Alec assures “although something tells me you’re more of a mulled wine kind of guy.” He adds and they both laugh.

“You got me, darling,” Magnus presses a kiss to the top of his head.

They stand in silence for a while, the hum of the wind the only sound around them.

“We should build a snowman,” Magnus announces then and Alec chuckles. But then his boyfriend pulls back and when Alec looks at his face, he seems to be serious.

“For real?”

“Yeah, I’m serious,” Magnus shrugs “it’s my birthday, it’s not like you’re gonna refuse me anything,” He winks and Alec rolls his eyes.

But yeah, he’s right.

Alec bends down to get the scoop of the snow, trying to form a ball, but almost instantly it crumbles in his palm.

“I don’t think the snow is clammy enough to actually hold some construction-“ Alec barely gets to finish his sentence when he feels something hitting his back.

No, not something. A snowball.

He stands up and turns to see his boyfriend with a mischievous smile, forming yet another ball in between his palms. Still somehow shocked and unprepared for a snow fight, an image of peacefully building a snowman still on his brain, he barely gets to duck to avoid Magnus’ another attack.

“That’s how you wanna play?” Alec can help the playfulness in his tone when he scoops some of the snow himself, arching an eyebrow, clearly challenging.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Alexander,” Magnus shrugs innocently.

“I have three siblings, you really have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, babe,” Alec reminds him before launching his attack and bombarding his boyfriend with a snowball of his own.

And that’s how they, two grown-ass men, end up running around the hill, throwing snowballs at each other. Alec tries to duck as many attacks as he can, but yes, he’s kind of out of touch when it comes to snowball fights, so he still gets hit more times then he’d like to admit. But Magnus doesn’t come out of this fight without a jostle too. When Alec eventually tries to put an end to this battle, raising his hand in an act of surrender, Magnus basically launches himself at him and they end up tumbling in the snow with a wave of laughter.

“Okay, okay,” Alec tries to catch his breath. They’re all wet now from the snow, but with Magnus on top of him, Alec doesn’t really feel the cold “are we done now?”

“I don’t know, do you surrender?” Magnus questions with a smirk, clearly comfortable in his position.

“Only because it’s your birthday and we’ll be freezing in a few seconds,” Alec points out.

“Admit your defeat, darling.”

“Never.”

They laugh again and maybe Alec isn’t too comfortable with laying on the snow, but if he gets to hear Magnus laugh like that, a joyful, happy laugh, he guesses he can survive a few more minutes.

“We should do the snow angel thing while we’re laying here either way,” Alec retorts.

“What for?” Magnus asks, placing his cold palm against Alec’s cheek. It’s still a pleasant and welcomed touch “I have my angel right here.”

Alec smiles but shakes his head at the ridiculousness of this statement.

“You sap,” He pushes at Magnus’ shoulder gently.

“Only for you, my love.”

*

Being the good boyfriend Alec is, as soon as they get back to the cottage he prepares a hot, relaxing, bubbly bath for Magnus.

And the good boyfriend Magnus is, he invites Alec to join him.

The bathroom here is relatively big, containing both a bath and a shower (that they’ve already made use of last night), but it’s still kept in this sort of rustic style, nice and cosy. They’ve also lit up some candles to create a bit of a more romantic set up. Yeah, it’s perfect.

After getting out of the drenched clothes, none of them really wasted any time to get into the pleasantly hot, bubbly water, soaking up all the heat and warming up their frozen limbs. Alec can barely feel his fingers now, but the water definitely helps.

He ends up with his back against Magnus’ chest, resting comfortably in his boyfriend’s arms, playing with their fingers, lacing and unlacing them. It feels so nice that he can’t help, but let out a pleased hum. Next, he feels a kiss being dropped onto his hair. He sinks further into Magnus’ arms.

“Hmm, it’s definitely the best birthday I’ve ever had,” Magnus admits with a dreamy sigh.

“For real?” Alec questions lightly.

“Yeah,” His boyfriend confirms “I can’t really think of a better way of spending it than with you.”

“Wouldn’t you prefer to be with your friends? I kind of whisked you away from everything…”

“No,” Alec can feel Magnus shake his head from where his chin in prompted upon the top of Alec’s head, “I think we needed that. Some time alone.” He states and then adds after a moment of silence “I’m actually kind of excited for Christmas with your family… Is that weird?”

Alec turns slightly in his arms so he can see him when they talk. He shakes his head with a smile creeping onto his lips.

“No. I’m glad you are, the rest will be also happy to have you.”

Magnus leans in to place a sweet kiss to his mouth.

“I’m glad you think that,” He smiles, but it swiftly turns into a smirk “but I think that means I’ll have to give you a few of your presents before we head to your family…” He trails of mysteriously.

“What did you get me?” Alec questions, curious “Magnus, I swear to God, if you got me anything sexual don’t even dare to bring it to my family-“ He starts with a warning in his tone, but Magnus’ laugh cuts him off.

“Oh, darling, don’t worry, we’ll still keep some things to ourselves,” He assures him lightly and places another kiss on top of his head.

“Well, we better,” Alec grumbles.

“I wish we could stay like this forever…” Magnus trails of dreamily.

“We could, but our skin would get wrinkly and the water will run cold” Alec points out, startling a laugh out of his boyfriend.

“You do know how to ruin one’s fantasy,” He says with banter “you’re the writer, use some imagination and ignore the facts for a while.”

Alec shakes his head amusingly, but yeah, he admits that this image is nice. Just him and Magnus, nothing bothering them, relaxing together… they deserve more moments like this, but their life is busy, so they should make the most they can of what the get.

“So,” Magnus starts a while later “how are you feeling with being New York Times’ best-selling author yet again?”

The smile is basically evident in his tone and Alec can’t stop his. But the truth is, that he doesn’t feel any different.

It’s great news, of course, means this his books are getting really popular. He’s also been really positively overwhelmed by all of the reviews online and the most important, his readers' opinions and reactions. Some people from the press called to get interviews and stuff, but overall, it hasn’t really been a fundamental change.

“I don’t feel any different, to be honest,” He admits and shrugs a little.

“Not letting the fame get to you, love?” Magnus teases “Just please, don’t forget me when you reach the top of the tree-“

“Stop it,” Alec laughs and splashes some water on him “I always have you to keep me on the ground,” He jokes.

“Oh, that I can do,” Magnus assures him, but his next words are way less playful “I’m really proud of you, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” Alec smiles a bit wider. He really does, but Magnus always makes sure to tell him. It makes his heart swell. He’s never been told such words when he was younger, never was enough to his parents, never made them proud. And the fact that now he’s doing the thing he loves the most, writing, and he can brighten some people’s days with his words is just so extraordinary to him, it makes him proud of himself. But it’s always nice to hear it, especially from Magnus since he knows his boyfriend is always honest with him.

“I guess you’re going to be busy with your next book soon, won’t you? I bet your readers are getting impatient already.” Magnus states then.

“They’ve just got a whole book, but yeah, greedy little creatures,” Alec jokes “now I deserve some rest, despite what everyone may think, writing a book is kind of exhausting.”

“Oh, I’m aware, love,” Magnus agrees. He knows better than anyone all of the sleepless nights Alec’s been through to finish some chapters or to look for plot holes and try to fix them. Yeah, his job is fun, but all of these details can be a pain in the neck sometimes “and yes you do,” His boyfriend follows his words with a kiss to the side of his neck. Alec cranes his head to gain his more access as he feels the soft lips against his skin, making him let out to quite, content gasp “maybe your next novel should be an erotica?” Magnus hums and Alec can’t help the laugh that escapes him.

“I don’t think I have enough experience in this area,” He retorts breathily as Magnus sucks a mark on his neck.

“I’d say you’re plenty experienced,” He whispers into his ear, causing a pleasant wave of shivers to run through Alec’s body “and also pretty good at it.”

“I actually mean writing that sort of scenes,” Alec says, his voice breathy “not the… you know, the act itself.”

“Hmm, you truly have a way with words, Mr Writer…” Magnus replies, his palms roaming over Alec’s chest now. Alec reaches with his hand and wraps it around the back of his boyfriend’s neck, bringing him down for a kiss.

The water does turn call before they leave the bathtub.

*

Later that night, they’re both sprawled on the couch, all comfy clothes and some soft music in the background, a few drinks already in. The fireplace is lit, fairy lights shining around the place, and in the middle of this festive, cosy atmosphere, there’s them.

Magnus is laying on top of him, with Alec’s hands running through his hair gently. It’s moments like these when he gets hit with the strong feeling of happiness, that not so long ago he didn’t even think he could feel. But once again, he finds out that with Magnus by his side, basically, everything is possible.

“We have to get a Christmas tree when we get back,” Magnus speaks then, his words followed by a pleased hum as Alec’s palm massages his scalp lightly.

“Isn’t it a bit too soon?” He questions.

“It’s never too soon to get in a Christmas mode, my love,” His boyfriend retorts simply “we’ll have to decorate the whole place, buy presents, wrap them later… it’s going to be so much fun. Especially now, that I have you with me.”

“Yeah, it sounds nice,” Alec admits “I just don’t want to mess with your sense of decorum too much…” He trails of teasingly.

“Oh, darling, stop it,” Magnus laughs. He braces his chin on top of Alec’s chest so he can look at him “true, the loft has to be decorated in style, but I just…” He sighs, clearly struggling to find the right words. Alec waits patiently for him to start, his fingers still tangled in his hair “doing all of that stuff on my own these past years had been fun. But I feel like sharing it all with someone, with you, will make it even better. Everything with you sounds better, but I… yeah, I guess, I’m not even sure if I’m making sense-“

“You are,” Alec interrupts him gently. He may not know Christmas without having someone near like Magnus does. Despite everything, he’s always had a family, better and worse times. Christmas has become this warm time when everyone comes together and for just one night, it sort of felt like everything was fine, the family atmosphere was in place. But for someone who’s lonely, there’s no warmth like this on Christmas. And Alec hates to think that Magnus used to be one of those people, he’ll do everything in his power to never let him again “I’m really glad to be sharing this with you too.”

Magnus smiles a sweet, genuine smile and leans in to kiss him soundly on the lips.

“We should bake gingerbreads or something,” He proposes then “invite your family over, you know, share this Christmas experience altogether.”

“Hmm, sure, if you’ll find a moment to get away from your demanding job before Christmas,” Alec jokes exaggeratingly.

“Oh, I’m slowing down with the work, believe me, last weeks had been terribly exhausting. No more.” He assures, rearranging himself comfortably against Alec’s chest again.

“And one more thing,” Alec beings to point out.

“Hm?” Magnus makes an affirmative sound that he’s listening.

“It’s our family, not my family.” He states.

Magnus hugs him a bit tighter, burying his head in Alec’s neck and placing a soft kiss there.

“Whatever you say, love.”

*

“Okay, I think we have everything,” Alec takes one last look at the contents of the car’s trunk and deciding that everything’s there, he finally closes it.

All good things come to an end eventually, and so does their weekend getaway. But Alec’s not worried. When they’re going to be back home, he’ll still have Magnus by his side, maybe not that exclusively, at least not before the holidays start, but still, he would never ask for anything more.

Magnus stands by the car now, taking a longing look at the winter cottage.

“Ready to go?” Alec walks up to him and wraps his arm around his waist. His boyfriend nods, but his expression is still thoughtful. 

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” He admits “although I wish we could stay, at least a bit longer.”

“We can always come back,” Alec retorts, pressing a kiss to the side of Magnus’ head as he too lets himself have a last glance at what was their temporary home for the last two days or so.

“Yeah, maybe when your next book becomes a New York Time’s bestseller,” Magnus states, elbowing him in the ribs playfully.

“I think we want to come back here sooner than that, the book will for sure take some time.”

“I don’t doubt you’ll create another wonder, angel,” Magnus says confidently and rests his head on Alec’s shoulder “we can just come whenever. It’s not like we actually need a reason to celebrate.”

“I supposed you’re right,” Alec agrees and hugs him tighter. It’s snowing again, basically has been for the whole time of their stay. And yes, it does add to the winter scenery but doesn’t change the fact that it’s very cold. Alec wonders if it’s been snowing in New York too, they’ll probably find out soon.

“Thank you,” Magnus looks at him when Alec turns his head, his eyes shining. A few snowflakes are falling onto his face and Alec gently reaches to wipe them from his brow.

“You’ve already thanked me, like a thousand times…” Alec reminds him jokingly.

“I know, I just… I really am grateful for what you did for me. I needed that, didn’t even know how much.”

“Well, duh, I’m your boyfriend, of course, I know what’s best for you,” Alec states as if it was that obvious and Magnus lets out a joyous laugh. And God, Alec will never be able to measure just how much he’s in love with that sound.

“I love you so much, Alexander,” Magnus says thankfully with a smile. Alec has never wanted anything in return for all of this, Magnus’ smile has and will always be enough of a reward, no matter what.

“I love you too,” He replies and kisses him gently, feeling their smiles marching into one “alright, shall we?” He gestures to the car when they part and his boyfriend nods.

And as they start the drive back home, Alec retorts that yeah, he’s pretty excited for the first Christmas spent with his boyfriend and ready to take on any challenges with him by his side.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for taking the time to read! I hope you enjoyed their wintery getaway as much as they did 😉💕 let me know your thoughts in the comments! And if you've got any ideas you'd like to see happening in this series, feel free to state them down below!


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